Lot 10. A rare pair of blue and white brush handles, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 16.2cm and 16.8cm long. (2)Sold for €19,200.  Photo Bonhams.

Each with a bulbous body tapering to a long cylindrical handle surmounted by a globular finial, finely painted in tones of inky blue with seven dragon medallions of varying size interspersed with ruyi-shaped clouds and flames, the handles decorated with three broad floral and geometric diaper bands.

ProvenanceCollection of Rudolf Wagner, Marl, acquired at Reimann and Monatsberger, Ludwigsburg, 26 June 1983, lot 220, then by descent to his daughter, acquired from her collection.

Published and Exhibited: UDaniel Suebsman and Thomas Belz, All the Colours of China! Myriads of Glazes over 1000 Years, Düsseldorf, 2019, p. 106
All the Colours of China! Myriads of Glazes over 1000 Years, Hetjens Museum, Düsseldorf, 20 August 2018 - 30 April 2019.

NoteA similarly decorated blue and white brush handle, dated to the Kangxi period, from the Palace Museum collection, is published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. The Four Treasures of the Study: Inksticks and Writing Brushes., Hong Kong, 2005, p.151, no.131. Another example in the Percival David Collection, London, of very similar shape with a Wanli six-character mark and decorated dragon medallions, is illustrated in Stacey Pierson, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 2004, p.27, no.627. See also a very similar blue and white brush handle dated to the Wanli period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Masterpieces of Chinese Writing Material in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, pl.2, no.2.

Bonhams - Cornette de Saint Cyr. CHINESE ART FROM A GERMAN FAMILY COLLECTION, Paris, 26 October 2023